The American Guerrillas of Mindanao

Posted Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The American Guerrillas of Mindanao Descendants Group will hold its 2009 annual meeting during the convention of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor in San Antonio May 26-30, 2009. The venue for this year’s convention is the Omni San Antonio Hotel At The Colonnade, which offers a group room rate of $99 plus tax. Due to various convention activities in which most of the attendees will be participating, the tentative date and time for our meeting will be Friday afternoon, May 29. I look forward to seeing a good number of AGOMers and descendants in San Antonio and also at our meeting. If anyone has a problem obtaining accommodations at the Omni, let me know – as in years past, I have reserved several rooms for “late-deciders” that I will hold until about a week prior to the convention.

TWe have learned that Jim Zobel, curator of the MacArthur Memorial Museum and Archives in Norfolk, recently traveled to the Philippines to personally receive the Commander Charles “Chick” Parsons historical collection. Peter Parsons reports that 30 archival boxes were turned over to Jim – they undoubtedly contain documents pertaining to his father’s World War II assignment as staff coordinator for guerrilla activities in the Philippines, which included the Tenth Military District on Mindanao. Working closely with Colonel Wendell Fertig, “Chick” Parsons played an important role in implementing General MacArthur’s military strategy for the conduct of the war on Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines.

Speaking of Wendell Fertig – here is the latest news regarding the status of the movie “Fertig” that has been in the works for several years: Robert Towne has finished the screenplay and it has been presented to Sony Productions for final approval. David Fincher, the director, is eager to start production. Apparently the role of Fertig has been offered to Brad Pitt, with whom Fincher has worked before, but it is not yet known whether the part has actually been cast. Fincher told Empire Movie Magazine in an interview last November that the movie could be “huge” and one of the “five greatest movies ever made.” Stay tuned …..

The recently-passed stimulus bill contained a provision for $198 million for one-time payments to Filipino veterans of World War II. U.S. based Filipinos will be granted $15,000, while those living in the Philippines will receive $9,000. These payments are certainly long overdue. But while this “better-late-than-never” action by the current U.S. Congress is laudable, why didn’t they also include funding for pending legislation – “to require the payment of compensation to members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the United States who were forced to perform slave labor by the Imperial Government of Japan or by corporations of Japan during World War II, or the surviving spouses of such members, and for other purposes” – in the same bill, along with a host of non-stimulative earmarks that were thrown in? A golden opportunity lost – S.3107 and H.R.6497 have been languishing in their respective finance committees since June/July 2008. No action since then.

William W. Williams sent documents pertaining to his experience in the Army Air Corps on Mindanao during WWII. He was a B-17 gunner/mechanic with the 30th Sqdr. of the 19th Bomb Group. After recovering from a severe wound received during a mission, he joined the Tenth Military District, serving in the FRS and later with the 109th Division.

Erling Jonassen sent an email expressing his appreciation for the efforts of the AGOM Descendants Group for providing news of the original AGOM members as well as their descendants. Jonassen concluded: “I served under Col. Grinstead as Company Commander of Signal Co., Infantry Co., and Regimental Executive with Bill McLaughlin. All my time was spent in the heart of Bukidnon Province.”

Attached is an updated roster. Additions include the seven children of Luke Campeau, Robert Townswick (Carlyle G.), Sandra Rosenquist Kahn (Harold Rosenquist), Linda Greco (niece of Melvyn H. McCoy) and 16 grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Charles Hansen. Please review the list and advise me of corrections, deletions and, most important of all, additional members, including email addresses if possible. Keep checking our website – www.americanguerrillasofmindanao.org – for news and updates.

My book, Guerrilla Daughter, has finally been published (ISBN 978-0-87338-949-5). It is the story of my family’s experiences on Mindanao during WWII. While my father and two brothers served in the 110th Division of the Tenth Military District, my mother, older sister and I spent the war years in various hideouts (bakwitans) in the area now called Surigao del Norte. I will be making a return trip to the Philippines in April to donate copies of the book to selected libraries, museums, heritage societies, etc. My sister Charlotte and brother Hank, now 82, will join me on a sentimental journey to Surigao del Norte to reunite with descendants of people who had helped us during WWII. Hank was undoubtedly the youngest AGOMer serving in the Tenth Military District on Mindanao – inducted only four months after his 16th birthday. He and our late brother Rudy were part of the Special Troops of the 110th Division commanded by Colonel Ernest McClish.

Last month I presented a copy of Guerrilla Daughter to the Philippine Ambassador to the U.S., Willy C. Gaa. During our visit Kent and I were accorded the usual warm and cordial Filipino welcome. An article on the presentation is on the embassy’s website – www.philippineembassy-usa.org, Home Page, scroll down to More Embassy News.

THE FINAL ROLL CALL

We received the sad news that William “Doc” Johnson passed away last November. He was preceded in death by his wife Martha the previous July. We hope to obtain more details from the family.

Ginger Hansen Holmes
President, AGOM Descendants Group
120 S. Cherry St.
Falls Church VA 22046
E-Mail: kvholmes@cox.net